This Is Not Goodbye
by Valiance
Summary: Zack is leaving Radiant Garden. He meets his best friend for a last goodbye.


The stream was Zack's favourite place. It ran through one of the greenest parts of town, at the edge of the wood, part of how the place got its name. It was likely going to be a long time before he saw it again, so his last memories wanted to be of here: the small sanctuary closed off from the rest of the town, the place he so often saw the girl in white with shining green eyes kneeling down to tend the flowers. It wasn't her he met today, though.

Cloud had always been quiet, thoughtful, but today he looked downright miserable as he trudged towards where Zack sat on the bank, like he'd guessed already what Zack was about to tell him. Still, even as he sat down beside him, he tried for a feeble half-smile. "Hey."

"Hiya, Cloudy." Zack peered into his face. The younger boy wasn't _sulky_, exactly, but he still seemed unhappy. "Looks like there's a chance of rain today. What's up?"

"Knock it off," Cloud punched him lightly on the arm. "Those jokes got old a million years ago."

"Hey I'm not that old. But I know who is."

"Who?"

Zack leaned forwards conspiratorially, letting the silence stretch on before he answered. Then, with a perfectly straight face: "Angeal."

The two broke down into fits of giggles, but Zack was quick to break off. Mentioning his mentor reminded him of why he'd asked them to meet in the first place, and the news he had to deliver. It was too serious to get sidetracked, and he was short on time.

"Hey, you know I've been training with Angeal, right...?"

Cloud's smile died. He nodded mutely. Zack tried not to be daunted, not expecting such an immediate reaction.

"Well, Angeal's seriously busy lately. He won't tell me what it's about – you know, all that 'classified higher-up stuff'--" at which point he deepened his voice into what he thought was an accurate impersonation of Angeal, "--but he says it's serious. So he's handing me over to someone else for training instead. Says the guy's a real pro."

Silence.

"He says he trained _real_ heroes in the past, Cloud! _Real heroes_."

"Cool."

"Sure, all of 'em let him down in the end, but he's gonna hit a winner one day, right? That's where I come in."

"Uh huh."

Zack eyed Cloud, who was refusing to make eye contact, and had replied in the most dull, unenthusiastic voice possible. Actually, if he didn't know Cloud better, he'd say the boy was close to tears, not trusting himself to speak.

Cloud never cried.

"Hey." Zack put a hand on his shoulder, making Cloud jerk and stare up at him in alarm. "...Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

Cloud hesitated. Then: "I don't know. I mean, I know you're excited, and I should be excited for you too, but... I have a bad feeling. Like something's going on. Like..."

"What?"

"Don't know. Maybe it's to do with all the disappearances lately." He shrugged, and added quickly, "Maybe I'm imagining things, but I don't want you to leave." He ducked his head so his reddening expression was hidden under blond bangs. "It'll be quiet without you."

Which, Zack figured, was the closest Cloud would ever get to admitting, 'I'll miss you.'

"Why are you talking like this is goodbye? I'm only gonna be gone until I finish training there. And it's not like Angeal would leave me somewhere dangerous if he could help it."

"How long will that take?"

Zack shrugged and waved the question away nonchalantly. "I didn't think about that. Months? Years? Does it matter?"

"You didn't – it doesn't matter?" The other boy's head snapped up like he'd been punched in the stomach, wide-eyed and hurt. For a second Zack hadn't quite registered why his reaction had been so bad, but then it clicked; Cloud had completely misunderstood.

He grinned and lunged forwards, grabbing the other boy in a headlock and scrubbing his hair with a fist. Cloud squirmed and protested, but Zack just tightened his grip. "You – are – such – an – _idiot_."

"_Why_?" Cloud knocked his hand away and looked resentful. If there was one thing he hated, it was not being taken seriously, especially when he was pouring his heart out like this – something he did for very few people and on very few occasions.

"I think you hit your head at practice this morning, because you're forgetting something: we're best friends. You think I want to leave you?"

Cloud just looked at him, studying his expression, like he was trying to gauge whether he was being made fun of or not.

Zack ignored it and continued, "I'll miss you too, buddy. But since we're best friends, it doesn't matter if I'm gone one day or ten years, right?" He let Cloud go, who looked for all the world like a rumpled chocobo with its feathers in disarray. "I won't forget about you. Ever. Got it?"

"Right." Cloud ducked his head again, rubbing the back of his neck and looking embarrassed, but pleased all the same. "Got it."

They didn't need to say a word after that. Just sat for a while, in the silence of each others' company, lost in their own thoughts, Zack drinking in sights he wouldn't see again for a while: the stream, the ancient trees of the wood, the fresh smell of grass and carefully tended flowers, and further, in the distance, the very top of Ansem the Wise's castle looming over them.

He wasn't able to sit still for long. Zack stood, putting his hands on his hips, taking in a deep breath of the cooling evening air. The sky was darkening, the sun disappearing behind the horizon, and at the edge of the woodland on the other side of the stream, the two of them could see the first few fireflies beginning to appear, bright little specks of light dancing around the trees. There were a lot of stories on how Radiant Garden earned its name. This spectacle was just one of many, and one of Zack's favourites. "I'm gonna miss this place, too. And my parents, and my sister. Funny that you appreciate everything you love when you're leaving it all behind, huh?"

Cloud looked like he was coming out of a daze, or else the peaceful chatter of the stream and the wind ghosting along the treetops had been sending him to sleep. He glanced up. "It'll all still be here when you get back, y'know."

"Yeah, you're right. It's just training. I'm so pumped!" Zack rolled his shoulders then started doing squats in quick succession. Cloud watched with slight alarm. "I'm gonna do my best – to impress my new coach – and become strong enough to be – a true hero! Then--" He flashed Cloud another of his trademark grins, "when I'm done – I can come back – and tell you all about it."

"Promise?"

Zack hunkered down again, and fixed him with a bright blue stare, dead serious. "Promise." Then he laughed and clasped Cloud's hand before pulling him into a rough hug. The younger boy stiffened like he wasn't sure what to do with himself.

When Zack let him go again, Cloud stood, picking grass from his clothes, his cheeks pink. "S-Shouldn't you be going now? It's nightfall."

"...Ohcrap. Yeah." Zack grinned, jumping to his feet as well. Typical Cloud, to get embarrassed over the little stuff. "Then I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Cloud said, his smile a little strained. "Good luck with training."

Zack gave a quick mock salute and jogged off, jumping across the stream, and up the other side of the bank. He paused at the treeline, cupping a hand around his mouth and declaring so loud it echoed around the trees, "When I come back? I'm gonna be a full-fledged hero. Watch for me!" Then he turned and disappeared into the woods, sending fireflies scattering in all directions, twigs and leaves crunching under his boots, and was gone.

Cloud was left alone on the riverbank, accompanied by silence, watching the twilit sky turn a darker and darker blue.


End file.
